JP2021109356A - Printing equipment and communication processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid an increase in the amount of communication between a printing device and an external intermediary device and an increase in battery consumption of the printing device.
A printer (14) includes a printing engine (51) and a CPU (41), and a second program (34) includes a time acquisition process for acquiring time information required for encrypted mutual recognition communication, and time information. Successful acquisition of time information without performing the determination process of determining whether or not the acquisition of When it is determined that the information has been sent / received, information is transmitted / received to / from the external intermediary device 12 by mutual recognition communication, and a transmission / reception process is executed.
[Selection diagram] FIG. 7

Description

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that prints on a printing medium and a communication processing program executed in an electronic device.

An MDM (Mobile Device Management) system is known in which a management server on the Internet communicates with a mobile device and manages the mobile device (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this prior art, an external mediator is connected to the management server that manages the printer so as to be able to communicate with the management server via the Internet. An internal mediator is communicably connected to the external mediator, and a printer, which is a mobile device, is configured to communicate with the internal mediator via a local network.

JP-A-2019-179446

In recent years, a configuration in which a printing device is directly connected to an external mediator has been proposed in place of the configuration of the above-mentioned conventional technique in which an internal mediator is interposed in information transmission between a printing device which is an electronic device and an external mediator. It's starting. In this case, the printing device communicates with the external intermediary device by encrypted mutual recognition wireless communication, and in order to perform this communication, it is necessary to collate each other's electronic certificates. Since the validity period of a digital certificate is usually set, it is necessary for the printing apparatus to acquire time information in advance in order to collate the digital certificate.

However, the printing apparatus used in such an MDM system may not have a function of internally generating time information (for example, a so-called real-time clock) from the viewpoint of emphasizing portability. In that case, until the time information is acquired in some form, the above-mentioned digital certificate is collated without having the time information. As a result, the collation error continues, and the communication between the printing device and the external intermediary device continues. This leads to an increase in the amount and battery consumption of the printing device.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printing device and a communication processing program that can avoid an increase in the amount of communication between a printing device and an external intermediary device and an increase in battery consumption of the printing device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a printing device having a printing means for printing on a printing medium and a control means, and communicating with an external intermediary device communicating with a management server via the Internet. The control means is a time acquisition process for acquiring time information required for encrypted mutual recognition communication; a determination process for determining whether or not the time information acquisition is successful in the time acquisition process; the determination. When it is not determined in the process that the acquisition of the time information is successful, the information is not transmitted / received to / from the external intermediary device by the mutual recognition communication, and it is determined in the determination process that the acquisition of the time information is successful. It is characterized in that it executes a transmission / reception process; which transmits / receives information to / from the external mediator by the mutual recognition communication.

The printing apparatus of the present invention is used in a so-called MDM (Mobile Device Management) system. That is, an external mediator (so-called Device Conductor) is communicably connected to the management server that manages the printing device via the Internet, and the printing device is communicably connected to the external mediator. Has been done. At this time, the printing device communicates with the external intermediary device by encrypted mutual recognition wireless communication, and in order to perform this communication, it is necessary to collate each other's electronic certificates. Since the validity period of a digital certificate is usually set, it is necessary for the printing apparatus to acquire time information in advance in order to collate the digital certificate.

In the present invention, the control means first performs a time acquisition process to acquire the time information, and then performs a determination process to determine whether or not the acquisition of the time information is successful. Then, only when it is determined that the acquisition of the time information is successful, the information is transmitted / received to / from the external intermediary device by the above mutual recognition communication (for example, so-called HTTPS communication) (transmission / reception processing), and it is not determined that the acquisition of the time information is successful. In that case, do not send or receive the above information. As a result, communication with the external intermediary device is always performed after the time information is acquired, and the above-mentioned collation error does not continue without having the time information. As a result, it is possible to avoid the above-mentioned adverse effects of an increase in the amount of communication between the printing device and the external intermediary device and an increase in battery consumption of the printing device, and it is possible to improve convenience for the user.

According to the present invention, it is possible to avoid an increase in the amount of communication between the printing device and the external mediator and an increase in battery consumption of the printing device.

It is a schematic block diagram of the management system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the correspondence database. It is a figure which shows the process of a management server, an external intermediary device, and a printer when registering a printer in a management server. It is a figure which shows the process of a management server, an external intermediary device, and a printer when making a printer execute an instruction from a management server. It is a figure which shows the process of a management server, an external intermediary device, and a printer when making a printer execute an instruction from a management server. It is a figure which shows the process of the management server, the external intermediary device, and the printer when the status is reported periodically without the instruction from the management server. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of the information transmission / reception including time information acquisition which is executed when the 2nd program of a printer performs information transmission / reception with an external intermediary device. It is a flowchart which shows the detailed procedure of the auto power off function executed by the 2nd program of a printer in the modification which has an auto power off function. It is a figure which shows the process of a management server, an external intermediary device, and a printer when registering a printer in a management server. It is a figure which shows the process of a management server, an external intermediary device, and a printer when making a printer execute an instruction from a management server. It is a figure which shows the process of the management server, the external intermediary device, and the printer when the status is reported periodically without the instruction from the management server. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of the information transmission / reception including time information acquisition which is executed when the 2nd program of a printer performs information transmission / reception with an external intermediary device. It is a schematic block diagram of the management system in the modified example in which an internal mediator device is provided.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<System overview>
In FIG. 1, the management system 10 according to the present embodiment is a system that manages the printer 14 by using a so-called mobile device management system. The administrator of the printer 14 browses the management information of the printer 14 stored in the management server 11 by using a browser, or instructs the printer 14 to change the setting information or the like through the management server 11.

Further, the management system 10 is a system that manages the printer 14 that does not have a function of directly communicating with the management server 11. An external intermediary device 12 is used so that the management server 11 can manage the printer 14 that does not have a function of directly communicating with the management server 11. The printer 14 is an example of a printing device and an example of an electronic device.

The management system 10 includes a management server 11 and an external intermediary device 12 connected to the Internet 15, the printer 14 connected to the local network 16, and an NTP server 1. The details of the NTP server 1 will be described later.

The management server 11 is, for example, a server owned by a company that provides a service for managing mobile devices. The external intermediary device 12 is, for example, a server owned by a company that receives a service for managing a mobile device. The local network 16 is constructed, for example, for each branch of a company that receives a service for managing mobile devices. Each branch has one or more printers 14, and the printer 14 of each branch is connected to the local network 16 of each branch.

In the illustrated example, three local networks 16 are constructed, and two or three printers 14 are connected to each local network 16. However, the number of local networks 16 included in the management system 10 and the number of printers 14 connected to each local network 16 are not limited to the illustrated examples.

The management server 11 and the external intermediary device 12 can communicate with each other through the Internet 15. Specifically, the management server 11 and the external intermediary device 12 each have a global IP address, and communicate with each other using an Internet protocol using the global IP address.

The local network 16 is a so-called intranet, for example, a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, a WAN, or a combination thereof. Printers 14 connected to the local network 16 can communicate with each other using a communication protocol such as TCP / IP. Specifically, the printers 14 communicate with each other using a private IP address or a MAC address.

The local network 16 has a relay device (not shown) such as a router. The relay device has a global IP address and is connected to the Internet 15. The printer 14 connected to the local network 16 communicates with the external intermediary device 12 via the relay device. Specifically, the printer 14 and the external intermediary device 12 communicate with each other through a firewall constructed by the relay device. It should be noted that the firewall is not essential, and the relay device may not be provided with a firewall when it is not necessary or is small.

The management system 10 is a system that enables the management server 11 to manage the printer 14 that does not have a function of directly communicating with the management server 11 by using the external intermediary device 12 having the above configuration. Specifically, a function of directly communicating with the management server 11 by using the first program 24 installed and executed in the external intermediary device 12 and the second program 34 installed and executed in the printer 14 is provided. Management of a printer 14 that does not exist is realized. That is, the management of the printer 14 that does not have the function of directly communicating with the management server 11 by the management server 11 is realized by the first program 24 and the second program 34. Hereinafter, the configurations of the external mediator device 12 and the printer 14 will be described in detail.

<External mediator (1)>
The external intermediary device 12 includes a CPU 21, a memory 22, a communication interface 25 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “communication I / F25”), a user I / F26, and a communication bus 27. The CPU 21, the memory 22, the communication I / F25, and the user I / F26 are connected to the communication bus 27.

The memory 22 is a portable storage medium such as a ROM, RAM, EEPROM, HDD, or USB memory, or a buffer included in the CPU 21. The memory 22 may be a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium is a non-transitory medium. In addition to the above examples, the non-transitory medium also includes a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM. The non-transitory medium is also a tangible medium. On the other hand, an electric signal that carries a program downloaded from a server on the Internet is a computer-readable signal medium, which is a kind of computer-readable medium, but is a storage that can be read by a non-transitory computer. Not included in the medium. The same applies to the memory 42 of the printer 14 described later.

The memory 22 has a program storage area 28 and a data storage area 29. The program storage area 28 stores programs such as the OS 23 and the first program 24.

OS23 is a basic program of the external intermediary device 12. OS23 is, for example, an operating system such as MacOS (registered trademark), Windows (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark), Android (registered trademark) OS and the like.

The first program 24 is a program that controls communication with the management server 11 and the printer 14 through the communication I / F 25 in cooperation with the OS 23. The first program 24 may be a single program or a collection of a plurality of programs. The process executed by the first program 24 will be described later.

The data storage area 29 stores data necessary for executing the program. Further, the data storage area 29 stores the corresponding database shown in FIG.

<Corresponding database>
In FIG. 2, the corresponding database has a plurality of items and a plurality of records. In this example, the plurality of items include the items "device ID", "GUID", "location information", "farm version", "setting information", "update date", and "status information". In addition, the corresponding database may include items other than the above-mentioned items.

The item "device ID" is an ID assigned to the printer 14. The device ID is, for example, the MAC address, IP address, serial number, or the like of the printer 14. Each record is distinguished by a device ID. That is, one record is generated for one printer 14.

The item "GUID" indicates a GUID assigned to the second program 34 (described later) provided in the printer 14. As the GUID, any number, characters, or any other GUID may be used as long as it can identify the second program 34. The same applies to the device ID.

The item "location information" indicates the local network 16 to which the printer 14 having the second program 34 represented by the item "GUID" belongs. The item "location information" is, for example, a branch name, a branch name, or the like.

The item "farm version" indicates the version of the second program 34, which will be described later, installed on the printer 14. The larger the number of the item "farm version", the newer the version.

The item "setting information" has a plurality of subdivided items such as the item "font", the item "font size", and the item "density". The item "font" means a font of characters printed by the printer 14. The item "font size" means the size of characters printed by the printer 14. The item "density" means the density of ink of characters and figures printed by the printer 14. In addition to the above items, the item "setting information" has other items such as an item indicating whether the automatic power off function is enabled or disabled, an item indicating the printing speed, and an item indicating the communication setting parameter. You may.

The item "update date and time" indicates the date and time when the content indicated by each item in the record was changed.

The item "state information" indicates whether or not the printer 14 of each record is the target of management by the management system 10. “Under management” means that the object is managed by the management system 10. “Waiting” means that the management system 10 is not subject to management.

<External intermediary device (2)>
Returning to FIG. 1, the communication I / F 25 of the external intermediary device 12 is an interface capable of communicating with the management server 11 and the printer 14. The communication I / F 25 is a LAN I / F or a wireless LAN I / F. The external mediator 12 and the printer 14 communicate with each other through the communication I / F 25, the Internet 15, the firewall (relay device), the local network 16, and the communication I / F 45.

The user I / F26 is, for example, a keyboard or a mouse, and accepts input by the administrator.

<Printer>
The printer 14 includes a CPU 41, a memory 42, a communication I / F 45, a battery 50, a printing engine 51, and a communication bus 47. The printing engine is an example of printing means, and the CPU 41 is an example of control means and an example of calculation means. The configuration of the CPU 41, the memory 42, the communication I / F 45, and the communication bus 47 is the same as the configuration of the CPU 21, the memory 22, the communication I / F 25, and the communication bus 27 of the external intermediary device 12.

The memory 42 has a program storage area 48 and a data storage area 49. The program storage area 48 stores programs such as the OS 43 and the second program 34. The data storage area 49 stores data necessary for executing the program. In addition, the data storage area 49 stores a device ID and a GUID (Globally Unique Identifier). The device ID is, for example, a MAC address of the printer 14, a private IP address, a serial number, or the like.

OS43 is a basic program of the printer 14. The second program 34 is a program that causes the print engine 51 to execute printing on an appropriate print medium in cooperation with the OS 43 and controls communication with the external mediator 12 through the communication I / F 45. The second program 34 may be a single program or a collection of a plurality of programs. The process executed by the second program 34 will be described later. The second program 34 is an example of a communication processing program.

The communication I / F 45 is an interface capable of communicating with the external mediator 12. The communication I / F 45 receives the command transmitted by the external intermediary device 12, and transmits a response to the command to the external intermediary device 12.

The battery 50 is, for example, a secondary battery that can be charged and discharged. The battery 50 is charged by the commercial power source when the printer 14 is connected to the commercial power source, and discharged when the printer 14 is not connected to the commercial power source to supply drive power to the printing engine 51 and the CPU 41.

<Program processing>
Hereinafter, the processes executed by the first program 24 and the second program 34 will be described.

In this specification, basically, the processing of the CPU according to the instruction described in the program will be described. That is, the processes such as "judgment", "extraction", "selection", "calculation", "decision", "specification", "acquisition", "acceptance", "control", and "setting" in the following description are It represents the processing of the CPU. The processing by the CPU also includes hardware control via a controller such as an OS. Note that "acquisition" is used in a concept that does not require a request. That is, the process of receiving data without the CPU requesting is also included in the concept of "the CPU acquires the data". Processing such as "command", "response", and "request" is performed by communicating information indicating "command", "response", "request", and the like. In addition, words such as "command", "response", and "request" may also be described in the sense of information itself indicating "command", "response", "request", and the like.

In addition, the processing of the CPU according to the instruction described in the program may be described in abbreviated wording. For example, it may be described as "performed by the CPU 21", "performed by the program 24", or "performed by the external intermediary device 12". The same applies to the CPU 41. Further, it may be described in abbreviated terms that the program inputs / outputs information through the communication I / F and the user I / F. For example, it may be described as "received by the CPU 21", "transmitted by the program 24", or "acquired by the external intermediary device 12".

Further, "data" and "information" in the present specification are common in that they are bits or bit strings that can be handled by a computer. "Data" refers to data that can be handled without the computer considering the meaning and content of each bit. On the other hand, "information" refers to information in which the operation of a computer branches depending on the meaning and content indicated by each bit. It should be noted that "data" having the same substantial meaning and content but different formats shall be treated as the same data. The same applies to "information". Further, the "instruction" is a control signal for prompting the destination device to perform the next operation, may include information, and has the property of information itself. There is also.

Further, "data" and "information" are the same data and information as long as they are recognized as having the same meaning even if the format (for example, text format, binary format, flag format, etc.) is changed for each computer. Treated as. For example, information indicating that there are "two" is retained as text format information "0x32" in ASCII code on one computer, and as binary format information "10" in binary notation on another computer. May be done.

However, the above distinction between "data" and "information" is not strict, and exceptional handling is permitted. For example, the data may be temporarily treated as information, or the information may be temporarily treated as data. Further, what is treated as data in one device may be treated as information in another device. Furthermore, information may be extracted from the data, or data may be extracted from the information.

<Basic processing contents of the program>
Hereinafter, the processes executed by the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 and the second program 34 of the printer 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. As will be described in detail later, in the transmission and reception of information between the external intermediary device 12 and the printer 14, the external intermediary device 12 basically includes information such as instructions in the HTTP response to the HTTP request received from the printer 14. In the form, it is transmitted to the printer 14. Therefore, the printer 14 periodically transmits an HTTP request to the external intermediary device 12. The firewall blocks transmission from the external mediator 12 to the printer 14 except for the HTTP response to the HTTP request from the printer 14.

<Printer registration>
First, a process of registering the device ID of the printer 14 in the corresponding database stored in the memory 22 of the external intermediary device 12 and starting the management of the management system 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the second program 34 of the printer 14 uses, for example, the printer 14 to be managed when the second program 34 is started for the first time and the initial setting of the second program 34 is executed, or when the person in charge inputs the printer 14. A time indicating that the time information described later could be acquired according to the registration instruction instructing the management system 10 to be registered, or when the registration instruction transmitted from the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 is received. The information acquisition flag F is initialized to 0 (step S11). The flowchart shown in FIG. 3 is executed every time the power of the printer 14 is turned on. Therefore, every time the power is turned on, the time information acquisition flag F is initialized to 0 in step S11. After that, the second program 34 transmits an HTTP request including its own device ID and its own GUID stored in the memory 32 to the external intermediary device 12 (step S14). In the specification of the present application, the "person in charge" is, for example, a person who manages the printer 14 at each branch office and is different from the manager who operates the external intermediary device 12.

The HTTP request including the device ID and GUID transmitted by the second program 34 of the printer 14 is received by the external mediator 12 (step S14). When the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the device ID and GUID, it determines whether or not the received device ID is already registered in the corresponding database, and if it determines that it is not registered, the received device ID. And the GUID is used to register a new record in the corresponding database (step S15).

Although not shown in this flowchart, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 uses an HTTP response including a response indicating that the device ID has been received as a response to the HTTP request received in step S14. Reply to the printer 14. Alternatively, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 may return the HTTP response including the device ID registered in the corresponding database to the printer 14 as the response of the HTTP request received in step S14.

At this time, in the record newly added to the database as described above, the initial value "waiting" is stored in the item "state information". In the example of FIG. 2, the record indicating the printer 14 with the device ID “009” is a newly added record. The printer 14 indicated by the "waiting" record has not yet been registered in the management server 11. That is, it can be said that it is a temporary registration state that is not managed by the management system 10. In the record indicating the printer 14 to be managed, the "state information" is changed from "waiting" to "managing".

When the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 determines that the received device ID is already registered in the corresponding database, the printer 14 sends a response indicating that the received device ID is already registered in the corresponding database. Reply to.

Returning to FIG. 3, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 then determines whether or not a deletion instruction has been input (step S16). The deletion instruction is, for example, an instruction input by the administrator to the external intermediary device 12. For example, the first program 24 displays on the display of the external intermediary device 12 that the record has been generated and registered in the corresponding database. The administrator who confirmed the display displays the corresponding database on the display of the external intermediary device 12, and determines whether or not the printer 14 indicated by the "standby" device ID is the target printer 14 to be managed. The administrator inputs a deletion instruction for the device ID of the printer 14 that should not be managed by the management system 10. That is, whether or not the device ID registered in the corresponding database is appropriate is confirmed by the administrator in the external intermediary device 12.

When the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 determines that the deletion instruction has been input (step S16: Yes), the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 deletes the record for which the deletion instruction has been given from the corresponding database (step S17). On the other hand, if the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 determines that the deletion instruction has not been input, the process of step S17 is skipped.

Next, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 waits until a management start instruction for starting the management of the management system 10 is input (step S18: No). When the first program 24 determines that the management start instruction has been input (step S18: Yes), the first program 24 transmits a command to the management server 11 (step S19). The command includes the device ID registered in the corresponding database as incidental information. Further, the command is a command for requesting the management server 11 to register the incidental device ID as the device ID of the printer 14 to be managed.

The first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 may accept the input of an instruction to refuse the start of management in step S18. In that case, the first program 24 transmits an HTTP response indicating that the instruction to refuse the start of management has been input to the second program 34 of the printer 14 in step S22. When the second program 34 receives the HTTP response, the second program 34 displays, for example, information indicating that an instruction to refuse the start of management has been input in the external intermediary device 12 on a display provided in the printer 14, for example. The person in charge can confirm from the information displayed on the display that the instruction to refuse the start of management has been input in the external intermediary device 12.

The command transmitted by the external mediator 12 is received by the management server 11 (step S19). The management server 11 that has received the command stores the device ID included in the received command in a memory (not shown). That is, the management server 11 registers the device ID included in the received command as the device ID of the printer 14 to be managed. After that, the management server 11 returns a response indicating that the device ID included in the command has been registered to the external intermediary device 12 via the Internet 15 (step S20).

The response returned by the management server 11 is received by the external mediator 12 (step S20). When the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the response from the management server 11, the first program 24 starts the management of the management system 10 (step S21). Specifically, the database item "status information" shown in FIG. 2 is changed from "waiting" to "managing".

Next, the first program 24 of the external mediator 12 sets the device ID that is "under management", that is, the device ID of the printer 14 that has started management, as the HTTP response to the HTTP request that the printer 14 periodically transmits. , Sent to the printer 14 (step S22). At this time, the device ID deleted in S17 is not transmitted.

The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 may transmit the HTTP response of step S22 to the printer 14 as the response of the HTTP request received in step S14. In that case, it is desirable that the processes of steps S16 and S17 are omitted so that a timeout does not occur.

Although not shown in this flowchart, when the second program 34 of the printer 14 receives the device ID that started management (step S22), the device ID that started management is stored in the memory 42. The second program 34 causes the person in charge to recognize that the device ID that has started management has been received, for example, by displaying it on a display provided in the printer 14. The person in charge can display the device ID stored in the memory 42 on the display of the printer 14 and confirm that the management to the printer 14 has started. The administrator of the external intermediary device 12 can confirm the printer 14 whose management has been started by displaying the corresponding database stored in the memory 22 on the display of the external intermediary device 12. In addition, the administrator of the external intermediary device 12 can confirm the printer 14 for which management has been started by displaying the data stored in the management server 11 on the display using a browser.

<Processes executed according to instructions from the management server (other than status report)>
Next, a command corresponding to an instruction from the management server 11 is input to the printer 14 having the device ID of the record whose item "state information" is "under management". That is, the management server 11 manages the printer 14. The details of this management will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The administrator inputs the instruction to the management server 11 to the management server 11 using a browser.

First, the management server 11 transmits the first instruction command to the external intermediary device 12 via the Internet 15 (step S31). The first instruction command is a command for causing the external mediator 12 to execute an instruction corresponding to the instruction to be executed by the printer 14. The first instruction command includes a device ID for identifying the printer 14 to execute the instruction as incidental information.

The first instruction command is, for example, in this example, an instruction to change the setting value of the printer 14 for each item such as "font", "font size", and "density" of the setting information (FIG. 2), and the first instruction command of the printer 14. 2 This is a command instructing the external intermediary device 12 to execute an instruction to update the farm version (FIG. 2) of the program 34, and the like. The case of an instruction requesting that the current status information of the printer 14 be returned will be described later. However, the content indicated by the first instruction command is not limited to these examples.

The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 receives the first instruction command transmitted by the management server 11 (step S31).

When the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the first instruction command (step S31), the first program 24 transmits a notification indicating that the first instruction command has been received to the management server 11 (step S32).

When the first program 24 of the external mediator 12 receives the first instruction command (step S31), the first program 24 identifies the GUID associated with the device ID included in the first instruction command from the corresponding database. That is, the first program 24 specifies the second program 34 of the printer 14 to which the instruction should be transmitted by the GUID. Specifically, the first program 24 specifies the record having the device ID included in the first instruction command on the corresponding database, and specifies the GUID of the item "GUID" in the specified record as the corresponding GUID ( Step S33).

Next, the first program 24 of the external mediator 12 generates a second instruction command in response to the instruction of the first instruction command (step S34). The second instruction command is a command that can be input to the printer 14 and is a command generated according to the content instructed by the first instruction command. The second instruction command includes the device ID included in the first instruction command as incidental information.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, the data storage area 29 of the memory 22 of the external mediator 12 stores the first command list. The first command list shows the correspondence between the first command and the second command. The first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 determines the second instruction command corresponding to the first instruction command received in step S31 from the first command list, and includes the determined second instruction command in the first instruction command. A second instruction command is generated by including the device ID to be used as incidental information (step S34).

Further, although not shown above, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 sends a file to be transmitted to the management server 11 when the instruction indicated by the first instruction command is a file transmission to the printer 14. Request. Upon receiving the request, the management server 11 transmits the file to the external intermediary device 12. The first program 24 receives the file and stores it in the memory 22. For example, a file containing a text instructing the printer 14 to change the setting, a program file of a new version of the second program 34, and the like are examples of files to be transmitted. When the first program 24 receives the file from the management server 11, in step S34, the first program 24 generates a second instruction command instructing the second program of the printer 14 to download the file.

The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 waits until the HTTP request from the printer 14 is received after the generation of the second instruction command.

On the other hand, the second program 34 of the printer 14 first initializes the time information acquisition flag F to 0 (step S29). However, this step S29 is skipped when the execution is performed continuously from the flowchart of FIG. That is, the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 is executed every time the power of the printer 14 is turned on, except when the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 is continuously executed. Therefore, every time the power is turned on, the time information acquisition flag F is initialized to 0 in step S29. After that, the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines whether or not the transmission timing stored in the memory 32 in advance has been reached (step S35). The transmission timing is set from a few seconds interval to a several tens of seconds interval, for example, a 10-second interval, a 15-second interval, a 20-second interval, or the like.

When the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines that the transmission timing has come (step S35: Yes), it transmits an HTTP request including its own GUID to the external intermediary device 12 (step S36).

The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 receives the HTTP request transmitted by the printer 14 (step S36). The first program 24 determines whether or not the GUID included in the received HTTP request matches the GUID determined in step S3 (step S37). That is, the first program 24 determines whether or not the printer 14 that has transmitted the HTTP request is the printer 14 that should transmit the second instruction command generated in step S34.

If the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 determines that the GUID included in the HTTP request received in step S36 and the GUID determined in step S33 do not match (step S37: No), the first program 24 does not include the second instruction command. The HTTP response is transmitted (step S38). The HTTP response transmitted in step S38 only indicates that the HTTP request transmitted in step S36 could be received.

On the other hand, when the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 determines that the GUID included in the HTTP request received in step S36 and the GUID determined in step S33 match (step S37: Yes), the first program 24 includes the second instruction command. The HTTP response is transmitted (step S39). That is, the external mediator 12 transmits the second instruction command to the printer 14 through the firewall by including the above second instruction command in the HTTP response to the HTTP request from the printer 14.

The second program 34 of the printer 14 receives the HTTP response transmitted by the external mediator 12 (steps S38 and S39). The second program 34 determines whether or not the received HTTP response includes the second instruction command (step S40). When the second program 34 determines that the received HTTP response does not include the second instruction command (step S40: No), the second program 34 returns to step S35 and continues to transmit the periodic HTTP request.

Although not shown in this flowchart, when the second instruction command received in step S39 is a command indicating file download, the second program 34 of the printer 14 requests an HTTP including a file transmission request. Is transmitted to the external mediator 12. The first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 that has received the HTTP request transmits an HTTP response including a file to the printer 14 in response to a command included in the HTTP request. The second program 34 of the printer 14 receives the file included in the HTTP response. The file may be included in the second instruction command and transmitted. In this case, the file transmission request is not transmitted from the second program 34 to the first program 24.

In the second program 34 of the printer 14, whether the instruction indicated by the second instruction command received in step S39 is to change the setting information, update the firmware version, or acquire the status information (in the example described later). Case) may be determined by the status request flag attached to the second instruction command. For example, when the first instruction command received in step S31 is an instruction for requesting status information, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 attaches the status request flag set to "ON" to the second instruction command. Let me.

On the other hand, when the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines that the received HTTP response includes the second instruction command (step S40: Yes), the notification indicating that the second instruction command has been received (hereinafter, "" An HTTP request including (also referred to as "receipt notification") is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 (step S41). That is, the second program 34 notifies the external mediator 12 that the second instruction command has been received. The significance of this notification is as follows.

That is, although not shown in this flowchart, if the first program 24 determines that the HTTP request including the reception notification is not received within a predetermined time, the HTTP of the HTTP request periodically transmitted from the printer 14 is determined. As a response, the second instruction command is retransmitted to the printer 14. Then, when the first program 24 receives the HTTP request including the reception notification, the first program 24 returns an HTTP response indicating that the reception notification has been received to the printer 14.

That is, if the second program 34 of the printer 14 does not receive the reception notification, the printer 14 issues the second instruction command until it receives a response corresponding to the second instruction command (see steps S55 and S62 described later). It is not possible to determine whether or not the command was received. As a result, the time until the response corresponding to the second instruction command is received exceeds a predetermined time determined as the time until the second instruction command is retransmitted, and the printer 14 receives the second instruction command. Despite this, the external mediator 12 may resend the second instruction command. Therefore, the second program 34 of the printer 14 transmits a reception notification to the external intermediary device 12 (step S41) before transmitting the responses (steps S55 and S62) corresponding to the second instruction command. This prevents the external mediator 12 from retransmitting the second instruction command even though the printer 14 has received the second instruction command. The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 receives the HTTP request including the reception notification (step S41).

The second program 34 of the printer 14 executes the instruction indicated by the second instruction command after executing the process of step S41 (step S52). For example, if the second instruction command is an instruction to change the settings of the printer 14 for each item such as "font", "font size", and "density" of the setting information (FIG. 2), the second program 34 , Change the setting values such as "font", "font size", and "density" with the setting values included in the second instruction command. When the second instruction command is an instruction to update the farm version, the second program 34 updates itself with the program included in the second instruction command.

Next, the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines whether or not the instruction indicated by the second instruction command can be executed by itself (step S54).

When it is determined that the instruction indicated by the second instruction command cannot be executed (step S54: No), the second program 34 transmits the HTTP request including the first error information to the external mediator 12 (step S55). The HTTP request transmitted at this time may be an HTTP request that the printer 14 periodically transmits to the external intermediary device 12, or an HTTP request that is transmitted separately from the HTTP request that is periodically transmitted. May be good.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, the data storage area 49 of the memory 42 of the printer 14 stores a first error correspondence list showing the correspondence between the first error code and the content of the error. ing. The second program 34 of the printer 14 determines the first error code corresponding to the content of the error from the first error correspondence list, generates the first error information including the determined first error code and the device ID, and generates the first error information. The generated first error information is included in the HTTP request and transmitted (step S55).

The transmitted first error information is received by the external mediator 12 (step S55). The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 generates the second error information based on the received first error information (step S56). The second error information includes a second error code in a format that can be recognized by the management server 11. Although not shown in FIG. 2 above, the data storage area 29 of the memory 22 of the external mediator 12 stores a second error correspondence list indicating the correspondence between the first error code and the second error code. The first program 24 determines the second error code corresponding to the first error code from the second error correspondence list, and the second error including the determined second error code and the device ID included in the first error information. Information is generated (step S56).

The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 transmits the second error information generated in step S56 to the management server 11 as a response to the received first instruction command (step S31) (step S57). The transmitted second error information is received by the management server 11 (step S57). When the management server 11 receives the second error information, it transmits a reception response indicating that the second error information has been received. The transmitted reception response is received by the external mediator 12 (step S58).

On the other hand, in step S54, when the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines that the printer 14 has been able to execute the content instructed by the second instruction command (step S54: Yes), the HTTP request is periodically transmitted. Wait until the transmission timing is reached (step S61: No). When it is determined that the transmission timing has come (step S61: Yes), the second program 34 receives the HTTP request including the status information in step S39 after executing the content instructed by the second instruction command in step S52. As a response of the second instruction command, it is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 (step S62). The status information at this time is setting information, farm version, and the like. Although not shown in this flowchart, it indicates that the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 has received the HTTP request after receiving the HTTP request including the status information (step S62). , Is transmitted to the printer 14 as an HTTP response of the HTTP request.

By including the status information in the HTTP request that is periodically transmitted from the printer 14 to the external intermediary device 12 as described above, the printer 14 and the printer 14 are compared with the case where the status information is transmitted separately from the HTTP request that is periodically transmitted. The number of communications with the external mediator 12 can be reduced. The second program 34 may include the changed status information in an HTTP request different from the HTTP request that is periodically transmitted and transmit it to the external intermediary device 12. In that case, the status information can be transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 more quickly than when the status information is included in the HTTP request to be transmitted periodically.

The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 receives the changed status information as a response to the second instruction command (step S62). When the first program 24 receives the status information, the first program 24 overwrites the values such as the setting information and the farm version of the corresponding database (FIG. 2) with the received status information (step S63).

Next, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 generates setting completion information including the fact that the printer 14 has executed the instruction indicated by the first instruction command and the status information received in step S62. Then, the generated setting completion information is transmitted to the management server 11 as a response to the first instruction command received in step S31 (step S64). The setting completion information is, for example, a command that can be input to the management server 11 and has status information as incidental information. The first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 may transmit the status information received in S62 to the management server 11 in addition to the setting completion information. That is, the fact that the setting has been made and the status information after the setting may be separately transmitted to the management server 11.

When the management server 11 receives the setting completion information via the Internet 15 (step S64), the management server 11 transmits a reception response indicating that the setting completion information has been received to the external intermediary device 12 (step S65). The first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the reception response transmitted by the management server 11 (step S65), and ends the process.

<Regular status report without instructions from the management server>
In the above description, the processing executed by the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 and the second program 34 of the printer 14 in response to the first instruction command from the management server 11 has been described. In the following, FIG. 6 shows a process in which the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 and the second program 34 of the printer 14 periodically transmit the status information of the printer 14 without depending on the instruction from the management server 11. It will be explained with reference to.

First, the second program 34 of the printer 14 first initializes the time information acquisition flag F to 0 (step S69). However, this step S69 is skipped when the execution is performed continuously from the flowchart of FIG. 3 or FIG. That is, the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is executed every time the power of the printer 14 is turned on, except that the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is continuously executed from the flowchart of FIG. 3 or 4. Therefore, every time the power is turned on, the time information acquisition flag F is initialized to 0 in step S69. After that, the second program 34 of the printer 14 waits until the periodic status acquisition timing is reached (step S71: No). The periodic status acquisition timing is, for example, every hour, every 12 hours, every 24 hours, and the like. That is, the periodic status timing is a longer period than the transmission timing for periodically transmitting the HTTP request described above. The reason for this is as follows. That is, when the printer 14 is made to execute the process of returning the status information, the printer 14 consumes power. Therefore, if the periodic status acquisition timing is in seconds or minutes, the battery 50 is consumed more. By setting the periodic status acquisition timing to an hour unit such as 1 hour, 12 hours, or 24 hours, it is possible to suppress the consumption of the battery 50.

In addition, setting the periodic status acquisition timing as an hour unit has the following other significance. That is, although not shown in FIG. 1 above, the printer 14 has a power supply circuit that drives the printing engine 51 and charges the battery 50. The power supply circuit converts the input commercial AC voltage into a DC voltage and outputs it. The second program 34 of the printer 14 has a function of executing a so-called sleep process of stopping the driving of the power supply circuit. By setting the periodic status acquisition timing to an hour unit such as 1 hour, 12 hours, or 24 hours, the printer 14 that is in a dormant state by the sleep function frequently returns to the drive state in which the drive circuit outputs a DC voltage. It is possible to suppress being forced to do so. As a result, the consumption of the battery 50 can be suppressed, and the discomfort of the printer user can be suppressed. The discomfort of the user of the printer 14 means that even if the printer 14 is put into a dormant state, it is immediately put into a driving state.

When the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines that the periodic status acquisition timing has come (step S71: Yes), it determines whether or not it is the transmission timing for transmitting the HTTP request to the external intermediary device 12 (step S74). .. When the second program 34 determines that the transmission timing has not come (step S74: No), the process of step S71 is executed again. On the other hand, when the second program 34 determines that the transmission timing has come (step S74: Yes), it determines whether or not the status information to be periodically acquired can be acquired from each part in the printer 14 (step S74: Yes). Step S75).

When the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines that the status information cannot be acquired (step S75: No), the second program 34 generates the third error information indicating that the status information could not be acquired, and the generated third error information. The HTTP request including the above is transmitted to the external mediator 12 (step S76). The HTTP request including the third error information may be included in an HTTP request different from the HTTP request that is periodically transmitted. That is, if the second program 34 determines that the status information has not been acquired, the second program 34 may transmit the HTTP request including the third error information to the external intermediary device 12 without waiting for the transmission timing. When the first program 24 receives the HTTP request including the third error information (step S76), the first program 24 transmits a response indicating that the HTTP request has been received to the printer 14 (step S78).

Further, when the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the HTTP request including the third error information (step S76), it decides not to update the corresponding database, and also provides the information corresponding to the third error information. It is determined not to transmit to the management server 11 (step S77). That is, when the printer 14 does not execute the instruction corresponding to the first instruction command input from the management server 11, the first program 24 generates the second error information as described above and transmits it to the management server 11. If the status information that is attempted to be acquired periodically cannot be acquired, the third error information is not transmitted to the management server 11. As a result, it is possible to prevent the error information from being frequently transmitted to the management server 11.

On the other hand, in step S75, when it is determined that the second program 34 of the printer 14 has acquired the status information (step S75: No), the HTTP request including the status information is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 (step S79). ). The HTTP request including the status information may be included in an HTTP request different from the HTTP request that is periodically transmitted. That is, if the second program 34 determines that the status information has been received, the second program 34 may transmit the HTTP request including the status information to the external intermediary device 12 without waiting for the transmission timing.

When the first program 24 of the external mediator 12 receives the HTTP request including the status information transmitted by the printer 14 (step S79), the first program 24 transmits an HTTP response indicating that the HTTP request has been received to the printer 14 (step S80). ..

When the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the HTTP request including the status information (step S79), the first program 24 updates the corresponding database item with the received status information (step S81). In addition, the first program 24 updates the date and time of the item "update date and time" of the corresponding database with the date and time when the HTTP request including the status information is received. As a result, the administrator of the external intermediary device 12 confirms the item "update date and time" by displaying the corresponding database on the display of the external intermediary device 12, and communicates with the date and time when the status information was updated and the printer 14. It is possible to recognize the latest date and time when the operation was performed.

Then, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 transmits a command with the updated status information and the update date and time as incidental information to the management server 11 (step S82). When the management server 11 receives the command with the status information and the update date and time as incidental information (step S82), the management server 11 stores the received status information and the update date and time in a memory (not shown), and receives the status information and the update date and time. The indicated response is transmitted to the external mediator 12 (step S83). Therefore, the administrator displays the information stored in the management server 11 on the display of the external intermediary device 12 using a browser, or displays the corresponding database stored in the memory 22 of the external intermediary device 12 on the display. By making it possible, the latest date and time when the status information is received can be confirmed.

<Status report according to instructions from the management server>
That is, the instruction to the printer 14 by the first instruction command transmitted by the management server 11 is an instruction to request the transmission of the status information of the printer 14. In this case, the first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 transmits the status information acquired periodically to the management server 11 as a response to the first instruction command. Such an example will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 6 described above.

That is, in FIG. 4 described above, when the second program 34 of the printer 14 receives the second instruction command requesting the return of the status information of the printer 14 from the external intermediary device 12 (step S39), the second instruction command An HTTP request including a notification indicating that the above is received is transmitted to the external mediator 12 (step S41). After that, the process proceeds to FIG. 6, and the second program 34 waits until the periodic status acquisition timing is reached (step S71: No).

When the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines that the periodic status acquisition timing has come (step S71: Yes), it determines whether or not the transmission timing for transmitting the HTTP request to the external intermediary device 12 has come, as described above. When it is determined that the transmission timing has come (step S74: Yes), the HTTP request including the status information acquired from each part in the printer 14 is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12 as a response of the second instruction command (steps S75 and S79). ..

The first program 24 of the external intermediary device 12 receives the HTTP request including the status information, returns the HTTP response (step S80), updates the corresponding database with the received status information (step S81), and first. Status information is transmitted to the management server 11 as a response to the instruction command (step S82).

The management server 11 receives the status information as a response of the transmitted first instruction command (step S82), and transmits a response indicating that the status information has been received to the external intermediary device 12 via the Internet 15 (step S83).

The first program 24 of the external mediator 12 receives a response indicating that the status information has been received (step S83), and ends the process.

<Acquisition of time information>
In the above basic configuration and operation, as described above, in the communication between the printer 14 and the external intermediary device 12, the external intermediary device 12 responds to the HTTP request transmitted by the printer 14 to the external intermediary device 12 by the external intermediary device 12. The HTTP response to the request is sent in the form of including various information including instructions. In this case, the printer 14 communicates with the external intermediary device 12 by encrypted mutual recognition wireless communication, but in order to perform this communication, it is necessary to collate each other's electronic certificates. Since the validity period of the digital certificate is usually set, the printer 14 needs to acquire the time information in advance in order to collate the digital certificate.

In the present embodiment, in order to cope with the above, the printer 14 acquires time information from the NTP server 1, which is an external device outside the device, via the Internet 15 before transmitting and receiving information to and from the external intermediary device 12. .. The NTP server 1 is an example of a time information server. Hereinafter, the processing content of information transmission / reception including the time information acquisition will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7. The process shown in FIG. 7 is executed by the second program 34 of the printer 14 each time information transmission / reception is executed between the external intermediary device 12 and the printer 14 in FIGS. 4 to 6. That is, the process of FIG. 7 is, for example, step S14 of FIG. 3, step S22, step S36 of FIG. 4, step S38, step S39, step S41, step S55 of FIG. 5, step S62, step S76 of FIG. It will be executed in S78, step S79, and step S80.

In FIG. 7, first, the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines whether or not the time information acquisition flag F described above is 1 (step S200). If the time information acquisition flag F is 0 (step S220: No), the second program 34 attempts to acquire time information from the NTP server 1 via the Internet 15 (step S210). Step S210 is an example of the time acquisition procedure, and the process executed in step S210 is an example of the time acquisition process.

After that, the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines whether or not the time information can be acquired from the NTP server 1 (step S220). Step S220 is an example of the determination procedure, and the process executed in step S220 is an example of the determination process. The second program 34 of the printer 14 repeats step S210 while the time information cannot be acquired from the NTP server 1 (step S220: No), and when the time information is acquired from the NTP server 1 (step S220: Yes), the time information is described above. The acquisition flag F is set to 1 (step S230).

After that, the second program 34 of the printer 14 transmits and receives information to and from the external mediator 12 using the above-mentioned HTTP request and HTTP response (step S240). On the other hand, when the time information acquisition flag F is 1 in step S200 described above (step S200: Yes), the second program 34 of the printer 14 does not perform steps S210, S220, and S230, and steps S240. Information is transmitted and received to and from the external intermediary device 12.

That is, step S240 is not executed while the time information cannot be acquired from the NTP server 1 in step S210, and step S240 is executed when the time information is acquired from the NTP server 1 in step S210 (step S220: Yes). The step S240 is also executed when the time information has been acquired in the past and the time information acquisition flag F is 1. As a result of these processing flows, step S240 is an example of a transmission / reception procedure, and the processing executed in step S240 is an example of transmission / reception processing. After that, the second program 34 of the printer 14 ends this flow.

<Effect of embodiment>
As described above, in the present embodiment, the second program 34 of the printer 14 first tries to acquire the time information (step S210), and then determines whether or not the acquisition of the time information is successful (step). S220). Then, only when it is determined that the acquisition of the time information is successful (step S220: Yes), information is transmitted / received to / from the external intermediary device 12 by mutual recognition communication, or HTTPS communication in the above example (step S240), and the time information is obtained. If it is not determined that the acquisition of the above information is successful (step S220: No), the above information transmission / reception is not performed. As a result, communication with the external intermediary device 12 is always performed after the time information is acquired, and the above-mentioned collation error does not continue without having the time information. As a result, it is possible to avoid the above-mentioned adverse effects of an increase in the amount of communication between the printer 14 and the external intermediary device 12 and an increase in battery consumption of the printer 14, and it is possible to improve convenience for the user.

Further, in the present embodiment, in particular, time information is acquired from the outside of the printer 14. As a result, smooth communication with the external intermediary device 12 can be performed using the time information acquired from the outside even if the printer 14 does not have the function of generating the time information.

Further, in the present embodiment, particularly, the time information acquired from the time information distribution server, and in the above example, the NTP server 1 is used. As a result, smooth communication with the external intermediary device 12 can be performed.

Further, in the present embodiment, in particular, time information is acquired each time the printer 14 is turned on. As a result, even when the power of the printer 14 is turned off and the time information is lost, the time information can be reliably acquired and the electronic certificate can be collated when the power is turned on thereafter.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and technical idea. Hereinafter, such modification examples will be described step by step. The same parts as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

(1) Manual input of time information That is, instead of using the time information input from the NTP server 1 as described above, in this modification, the user manually operates the time information via an appropriate operation unit provided on the printer 14. Enter the appropriate time with. In this case, in step S210 of FIG. 7, time information corresponding to the time input by the manual operation is acquired, and in step S220, it is determined whether or not the acquisition of the time information is successful. The above-mentioned operation unit is an example of the operation means.

In this modification, as described above, when the user operates the operation unit to input the time, the time information corresponding to the time is acquired by the second program 34. In order to avoid the verification error of the digital certificate, the accuracy of the time information does not matter, and the time represented by the time information needs to be within the valid period of the digital certificate to be collated. There is no problem even with simple operation input. As a result, as in the above embodiment, even if the printer 14 does not have the function of generating the time information, the time information corresponding to the time input by the operation as described above can be used with the external intermediary device 12. Smooth communication can be performed.

(2) When Acquiring Time Information from Other Printers As shown in FIG. 1, the management system 10 includes a plurality of local networks 16, and each of the local networks 16 includes a plurality of printers 14. ing. Then, the printers 14 connected to the local network 16 can communicate with each other using a communication protocol such as TCP / IP. Therefore, for example, when a specific printer 14 acquires time information from the NTP server 1, another printer 14 in the same local network 6 may acquire the time information from the specific printer 14. .. The same applies when the specific printer 14 has already acquired the time information based on the manual operation of the user. In this case, the other printer 14 is an example of a printing device, and the specific printer 14 is an example of a first printing device.

In this modification, in step S210 of FIG. 7 executed by the second program 34 in the other printer 14, time information is acquired from the specific printer 14, and in step S220, the acquisition of the time information is successful. It is judged whether or not it was done.

In this modification, when the specific printer 14 communicating with the external intermediary device 12 has already acquired the time information, the second program 34 of the other printer 14 has acquired the time information from the specific printer 14. Use time information. As a result, compared to the case where the other printer 14 separately acquires the time information from the NTP server 1 or the like, the time information can be acquired with simple control while reducing the communication volume of the entire network, and the external device can be acquired. Smooth communication with the intermediary device 12 can be performed.

(3) When there is an auto power off function In this modified example, the printer 14 has a so-called auto power off function. That is, for example, the printer 14 is switched to the power-off state when a predetermined reference time elapses after a specific operating mechanism such as the print engine 51 and the communication I / F 45 is in the non-operating state. The details of this auto power-off function by the second program 34 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The process shown in FIG. 8 is executed by the second program 34 of the printer 14 in parallel with the process shown in FIGS. 9 to 12 described later.

In FIG. 8, first, the second program 34 of the printer 14 initializes the execution flag Fp indicating whether or not the auto power-off function is executed to 0 (step S100). After that, the second program 34 determines whether or not the non-operating state of the specific operating mechanism provided in the printer 14 has continued for a predetermined reference time (step S110). The specific operating mechanism is, for example, a printing engine 51, a communication I / F 45, or the like. In this example, the reference time is 10 minutes. When the non-operating state continues for 10 minutes (step S110: Yes), the second program 34 of the printer 14 turns off the power of the printer 14, that is, switches the power supply voltage to the supply cutoff state (step S120), and the execution flag Fp = Set to 1 (step S130). The process executed in step S120 is an example of the switching process.

After that, the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines whether or not a predetermined return operation for releasing the power OFF state has been performed (step S140). The return operation is, for example, a predetermined appropriate operation for an appropriate operation unit such as a button provided on the printer 14. The second program 34 continues the power-off state until the return operation is performed (step S140: No). The second program 34 turns on the power of the printer 14 when the return operation is performed (step S140: Yes), that is, returns the power supply voltage to the supply state (step S150), and then returns the execution flag Fp = 0 (step). S160), the process is terminated. The process executed in step S150 is an example of the return process.

The processes executed by the first program 24 and the second program 34 in the present modification corresponding to the process of FIG. 8 are performed in FIGS. 9, 9 and 10 corresponding to the above-mentioned FIGS. 3, 4, 6, and 7, respectively. , FIGS. 11, 12 and FIG. 5 described above will be described.

That is, at the time of registering the printer 14 in the corresponding database described above in FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. 9, the second program 34 is initialized to the time information acquisition flag F = 0 (step S11), and then the execution flag Fp. Is initialized to 0 (step S12). Subsequent processing is the same as in FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 9 is executed every time the power of the printer 14 is turned on. Therefore, each time the power is turned on, the time information acquisition flag F and the execution flag Fp are initialized to 0 in steps S11 and S12.

Further, when the desired process is executed based on the instruction from the management server 11 described above with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the second program 34 sets the time information acquisition flag F as shown in FIG. After initializing to = 0 (step S29), the execution flag Fp is initialized to 0 (step S30). As in FIG. 4, when the flowcharts in FIG. 9 are continuously executed, steps S29 and S30 in FIG. 10 are skipped. That is, the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 is executed every time the power of the printer 14 is turned on, except when the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 is continuously executed. Therefore, each time the power is turned on, the time information acquisition flag F and the execution flag Fp are initialized to 0 in steps S29 and S30. Subsequent processing is the same as in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Further, when the process of periodically transmitting the status information of the printer 14 is executed without relying on the instruction from the management server 11 described above using FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 11, the second The program 34 initializes the time information acquisition flag F = 0 (step S69) and then initializes the execution flag Fp to 0 (step S70). As in FIG. 10, when the flowcharts in FIG. 9 are continuously executed, steps S69 and S70 in FIG. 11 are skipped. That is, the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 is executed every time the power of the printer 14 is turned on, except when the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 is continuously executed. Therefore, each time the power is turned on, the time information acquisition flag F and the execution flag Fp are initialized to 0 in steps S69 and S70. Subsequent processing is the same as in FIG.

In this modified example, the processing content of information transmission / reception including time information acquisition is shown in FIG. Note that the process shown in FIG. 12 is performed by the second program 34 of the printer 14 each time information transmission / reception is executed between the external intermediary device 12 and the printer 14 in FIGS. 10, 5, and 11 in the same manner as in FIG. Will be executed.

In FIG. 12, in the present modification, the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines whether or not the time information acquisition flag F is 1 (step S200), and if the time information acquisition flag F is 1. (Step S200: Yes), it is determined whether or not the execution flag Fp is 1 (step S250). When the execution flag Fp is 0 (step S250: No), the second program 34 transmits / receives information to / from the external intermediary device 12 in step S240. On the other hand, when the execution flag Fp is 1 (step S250: Yes), the second program 34 acquires the time information from the NTP server 1 via the Internet 15 after setting the execution flag Fp = 1 (step S260). (Step S210). Subsequent steps S220 and S230 are the same as in FIG. 7.

In this modification, the printer 14 is provided with a so-called auto power off function, and the power is turned off by the auto power off function (step S120), and even if the time information is lost, the recovery operation is performed thereafter. When the power is turned on again (step S140), the time information can be reliably acquired and the electronic certificate can be collated.

(4) When an internal mediator is installed <System configuration>
In this modification, for some printers 14'of the plurality of printers provided, an internal intermediary device 13 is used in addition to the external intermediary device 12 in order to manage them by the management server 11. That is, as shown in FIG. 13 corresponding to FIG. 1, the management system 10 includes a management server 11 and an external intermediary device 12 connected to the Internet 15, and the above-described embodiment and modified examples of (1) to (3). A printer 14 connected to a similar local network 16 and a printer 14'connected to the local network 16'and an internal mediator 13 are provided. In this modified example, the NTP server 1 is not provided.

The internal mediator 13 is, for example, a server or a personal computer installed in each branch of the above-mentioned company. The internal mediator 13 and each printer 14'are connected via the local network 16'constructed in the branch office. The internal mediator 13 connected to the local network 16'and the printer 14' can communicate with each other using a communication protocol such as TCP / IP. Specifically, the internal mediator 13 and the printer 14'communicate with each other using a private IP address or a MAC address. The internal intermediary device 13 connected to the local network 16'communicates with the external intermediary device 12 via the relay device. Specifically, the internal intermediary device 13 and the external intermediary device 12 communicate with each other through a firewall constructed by the relay device. It should be noted that the firewall is not essential, and the relay device may not be provided with a firewall when it is not necessary or is small.

In the management system 10, the management of the printer 14'is realized by using the external intermediary device 12 and the internal intermediary device 13 having the above-described configuration. At this time, the internal mediator 13 is provided with a second program 34'having a function equivalent to that of the second program 34 provided in the printer 14 in the above-described embodiment and the like. Then, the management of the printer 14'is realized by using the first program 24 installed and executed in the external intermediary device 12 and the second program 34'installed and executed in the internal intermediary device 13.

<Internal mediator>
The internal mediator 13 includes a CPU 31, a memory 32, a communication I / F35, a user I / F36, and a communication bus 37. The configurations of the CPU 31, the memory 32, the communication I / F35, the user I / F36, and the communication bus 37 are the same as the configurations of the CPU 21, the memory 22, the user I / F26, and the communication bus 27 of the external intermediary device 12.

The memory 32 has a program storage area 38 and a data storage area 39. The program storage area 38 stores programs such as the OS 33 and the second program 34'. The data storage area 39 stores data necessary for executing the program. In addition, the data storage area 39 stores the above GUID.

OS 33 is a basic program of the internal mediator device 13. The second program 34'is a program that controls communication with the external mediator 12 and the printer 14'through the communication I / F35 in cooperation with the OS 33. The second program 34'may be a single program or a collection of a plurality of programs.

The communication I / F 35 is an interface capable of communicating with the external mediator 12 and the printer 14'. The communication I / F 35 is a LAN I / F or a wireless LAN I / F.

<Printer>
In the printer 14'of this modification, the control program 44 is stored in the program storage area 48 of the memory 42 in place of the second program 34 described above. The control program 44 is a program that causes the printing engine 51 to execute printing in cooperation with the OS 43 and controls communication with the internal mediator 13 through the communication I / F 45. The control program 44 may be a single program or a collection of a plurality of programs. The process executed by the control program 44 will be described later.

Further, the communication I / F 45 is an interface capable of communicating with the internal mediator 13. The communication I / F 45 receives the command transmitted by the internal mediator 13 and transmits a response to the command to the internal mediator 13.

<Program processing>
In this modification, the local network 16'providing the printer 14'and the internal mediator 13'is the process executed by the second program 34 of the printer 14 in the above-described embodiment and the modified examples (1) to (3). Equivalent processing is performed by the second program 34'of the internal mediator 13. That is, although illustration and detailed description are omitted, for example, in the same manner as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-179446, steps S14, S22, and S29 in FIGS. The process equivalent to step S35, step S36 to step S41, step S54, step S55, step S61, step S62, step S69 to step S75, step S78 to step S80, step S30, and step S70 is the first step of the internal mediator device 13. 2 Executed under the control of program 34'. Then, processing or information transmission / reception corresponding to the pre-processing or post-processing of each of these procedures is performed between the internal mediator 13 and the printer 14'.

<Acquisition of time information>
Then, in this modification, the internal mediator 13 internally includes a function of generating time information, a so-called real-time clock and the like. Then, the printer 14 belonging to another local network 16 different from the local network 16'to which the internal intermediary device 13 belongs acquires and uses the time information provided in the internal intermediary device 13 by the second program 34. Hereinafter, the processing content will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7 described above.

That is, in FIG. 4 described above, the second program 34 of the printer 14 is
It is determined whether or not the time information acquisition flag F described above is 1 (step S200). If the time information acquisition flag F is 0 (step S220: No), the second program 34 acquires the time information from the internal intermediary device 13 belonging to another local network 16'that is different from the local network 16 to which the printer 14 belongs. (Step S210). Similar to the above, step S210 is an example of the time acquisition procedure, and the process executed in step S210 is an example of the time acquisition process.

After that, the second program 34 of the printer 14 determines whether or not the time information can be acquired from the internal mediator 13 (step S220). Similar to the above, step S220 is an example of the determination procedure, and the process executed in step S220 is an example of the determination process. The second program 34 of the printer 14 repeats step S210 while the time information cannot be acquired from the internal intermediary device 13 (step S220: No), and when the time information is acquired from the internal intermediary device 13 (step S220: Yes), the above The time information acquisition flag F is set to 1 (step S230).

After that, the second program 34 of the printer 14 transmits and receives information to and from the external mediator 12 using the above-mentioned HTTP request and HTTP response (step S240). On the other hand, when the time information acquisition flag F is 1 in step S200 described above (step S200: Yes), the second program 34 of the printer 14 does not perform steps S210, S220, and S230, and steps S240. Information is transmitted and received to and from the external intermediary device 12.

That is, step S240 is not executed while the time information cannot be acquired from the internal intermediary device 13 in step S210, and step S240 is executed when the time information is acquired from the internal intermediary device 13 in step S210 (step S220: Yes). The step S240 is also executed when the time information has been acquired in the past and the time information acquisition flag F is 1. As a result of these processing flows, step S240 is an example of a transmission / reception procedure, and the processing executed in step S240 is an example of transmission / reception processing. After that, the second program 34 of the printer 14 ends this flow.

<Effect of modified example>
As described above, in the present modification, the internal intermediary device 13 that can communicate with the external intermediary device 12 and can generate the time information by itself is provided in the local network 16'. Then, the printer 14'belonging to another local network 16 acquires and uses the time information generated by the internal mediator 13. As a result, the printer 14'can acquire the time information with simple control while reducing the communication volume of the entire network, as compared with the method in which the printer 14'acquires the time information from another external device independently. Can communicate smoothly with. Further, in this modified example, there is an effect that the security can be further enhanced as compared with the case where the time information acquired from the external device is used as in the above-mentioned NTP server 1.

Instead of the above, the printer 14 acquires the time information acquired from the internal mediator 13 by the printer 14'in the local network 16'from the printer 14'via the local networks 16'and 16. You may use it. In this case, the printer 14'is an example of the second printing apparatus. Also in this case, as compared with the method in which the printer 14 independently acquires the time information from another external device, the time information can be acquired by simple control while reducing the communication volume of the entire network, and the above-mentioned external intermediary device can be acquired. Smooth communication with 12 can be performed.

(5) Others In the above, the HTTP request is transmitted to the external intermediary device 12, and the external intermediary device 12 returns the HTTP response, so that the external intermediary device 12 transmits the second instruction command through the firewall. An example was explained. However, other communication protocols may be used as long as the second instruction command can be transmitted from the external mediator 12 through the firewall. For example, a communication protocol according to XMPPoverBOSH may be used between the external mediator 12 and the printer 14 or the internal mediator 13. The external intermediary device 12 transmits the session start request of XMPPoverBOSH to the printer 14 or the internal intermediary device 13, and the external intermediary device 12 returns the session start response. The second instruction command can be transmitted to 14 or the internal mediator 13 through the firewall.

Further, in the above description, the printers 14 and 14', which are printing devices, have been described as an example of the electronic devices to be managed by the management server 11, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, any electronic device capable of communicating with the external mediator 12 or the internal mediator 13, for example, a digital camera, a personal computer, a measuring device, a clock, a barcode reader, a scanner, a sewing machine, and other information devices / communication devices. -The present invention can be applied to control devices, various machines, etc., and the same effect can be obtained in this case as well.

In the above, the sequences and flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 to 12 and the like do not limit the present invention to the procedure shown in the above flow, and addition / deletion of the procedure within a range that does not deviate from the purpose and technical idea of the invention. Alternatively, the order may be changed.

In addition to the above, the methods according to the above-described embodiment and each modification may be appropriately combined and used.

In addition, although not illustrated one by one, the present invention is carried out with various modifications within a range not deviating from the gist thereof.

10 Management system 11 Management server 12 External mediator 13 Internal mediator 14 Printer (example of printing device, first printing device, electronic device)
14'Printer (an example of a second printing device)
21 CPU
24 1st program 34 2nd program 34'2nd program 44 Control program 41 CPU (example of control means and calculation means)
51 Printing engine (an example of printing means)

Claims (10)

A printing means for printing on a printing medium and
Control means and
Have,
A printing device that communicates with an external intermediary device that communicates with the management server via the Internet.
The control means
Time acquisition process to acquire time information required for encrypted mutual recognition communication;
Judgment process for determining whether or not the time information has been successfully acquired in the time acquisition process;
If it is not determined in the determination process that the acquisition of the time information is successful, it is determined that the determination process has succeeded in acquiring the time information without transmitting / receiving information to / from the external intermediary device by the mutual recognition communication. In that case, information is transmitted / received to / from the external intermediary device by the mutual recognition communication.
A printing device characterized by performing. In the printing apparatus according to claim 1,
In the time acquisition process,
The time information is acquired from an external device outside the printing device, and the time information is acquired.
In the transmission / reception process,
A printing device characterized in that when it is determined in the determination process that the time information has been successfully acquired from the external device, information is transmitted / received to / from the external intermediary device. In the printing apparatus according to claim 2.
In the time acquisition process,
As the external device, the time information is acquired from the time information distribution server, and the time information is acquired.
In the transmission / reception process,
A printing device characterized in that when it is determined in the determination process that the time information has been successfully acquired from the time information distribution server, information is transmitted / received to / from the external intermediary device. In the printing apparatus according to claim 2.
It is configured to be able to communicate with a first printing device different from the printing device, which communicates with the external intermediary device, through a local network.
In the time acquisition process,
As the external device, the time information is acquired from the first printing device, and the time information is acquired.
In the transmission / reception process,
A printing apparatus characterized in that when it is determined in the determination process that the time information has been successfully acquired from the first printing apparatus, information is transmitted / received to / from the external intermediary apparatus. In the printing apparatus according to claim 2.
The internal intermediary device that communicates with the external intermediary device is configured to be able to communicate through the local network.
In the time acquisition process,
As the external device, the time information is acquired from the internal mediator device, and the time information is acquired.
In the transmission / reception process,
A printing device characterized in that when it is determined in the determination process that the time information has been successfully acquired from the internal mediation device, information is transmitted / received to / from the external mediation device. In the printing apparatus according to claim 2.
A second printing device different from the printing device, which communicates with the internal mediator that communicates with the external mediator through the local network, is configured to be able to communicate through the local network.
In the time acquisition process,
As the external device, the time information is acquired from the second printing device, and the time information is acquired.
In the transmission / reception process,
A printing apparatus characterized in that when it is determined in the determination process that the time information has been successfully acquired from the second printing apparatus, information is transmitted / received to / from the external intermediary apparatus. In the printing apparatus according to claim 1,
Has more operating means
In the time acquisition process,
The time information corresponding to the time input via the operation means is acquired, and the time information is acquired.
In the transmission / reception process,
A printing apparatus characterized in that when it is determined in the determination process that the acquisition of the time information corresponding to the time input via the operating means has been successful, information is transmitted / received to / from the external intermediary device. In the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
The control means
A printing device characterized in that the time acquisition process is executed each time the power of the printing device is turned on. In the printing apparatus according to claim 8.
The control means
A switching process for switching the power supply voltage supplied to the printing apparatus to a supply cutoff state when a reference time elapses after a specific operating mechanism among a plurality of operating mechanisms including the printing means is in a non-operating state. ;
After switching to the supply cutoff state by the switching process, the return process for returning the power supply voltage to the power supply state based on a predetermined return operation;
As well as
A printing apparatus characterized in that the time acquisition process is executed even when the power is turned on by the return process. For computing means provided in electronic devices that communicate with external intermediaries that communicate with the management server via the Internet
The time acquisition procedure for acquiring the time information required for encrypted mutual recognition communication, and
A determination procedure for determining whether or not the time information has been successfully acquired in the time acquisition procedure, and a determination procedure for determining whether or not the acquisition of the time information has been successful.
If it is not determined in the determination procedure that the acquisition of the time information is successful, it is determined that the acquisition of the time information is successful in the determination procedure without transmitting / receiving information to / from the external intermediary device by the mutual recognition communication. In this case, the transmission / reception procedure for transmitting / receiving information to / from the external intermediary device by the mutual recognition communication,
When,
Communication processing program to execute.

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